The decision now rests with Kiev and its Western backers, the Russian president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Kiev the opportunity to restart direct negotiations in Istanbul, which it unilaterally walked away from in 2022, despite Ukraine’s failure to honor the Victory Day truce and previous de-escalation initiatives.
Addressing the press following a day of meetings with foreign heads of state visiting Moscow, President Vladimir Putin offered to restart negotiations that Kiev abandoned in 2022, shortly after the escalation of the current conflict.
“We propose that the Kiev authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted at the end of 2022. To resume direct negotiations, and I emphasize, without any preconditions.. We propose to start without delay next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul,” Putin said.
“Our proposal is, so to speak, on the table. The decision now lies with the Ukrainian authorities and their curators,” the Russian leader added.
Earlier, on Saturday, after a meeting with European leaders in Kiev, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky demanded that Russia agree to a complete 30-day ceasefire with no preconditions before he would agree to resume direct talks with Moscow.
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